Friday, September 3, 2010

Big Sprawling Oak

Most of the large trees at Blue Jay Barrens have unique shapes that make them instantly recognizable as individuals. These aren’t the type of trees that make good timber, but they’re excellent if you just like big trees. Each tree is a product of past activities and it’s fun to speculate on the events that brought each tree to its present form. This Chinquapin Oak has probably had more than its share of traumatic events in the course of its life.

A lot of effort went into sinking roots into this rocky hillside. The trunk is just over three feet in diameter and the base is even larger. This tree is magnificently anchored and exudes a strength that makes you believe it could last forever.

Branches take off in all sorts of odd directions. The surrounding trees are all much younger which indicates that this tree was left standing when all around was cut. Was it too small to cut or was it left because it was damaged by a falling tree? This would have been near the edge of a farm field at one time, so maybe the tree was left to provide shade for a tired farmer.

Many lower branches mean many tops. This tree claims a large area of the forest canopy. Several large trees could grow in the space being occupied by this one. Anyone managing the forest for timber production would have had it cut long ago. I’m glad none of the earlier farmers went in for doing any management.

The leaves look healthy enough. All of the leaves on the trees look a little bit ragged this year. Part of the reason is the unusually high number of leaf eating larvae on the trees this year. A second reason is the hail storm we had earlier in the year that managed to hole a great number of leaves.

I’ve grown quite fond of many of these misshapen giants and will be saddened if anything happens to them. I wouldn’t trade this guy for a dozen timber trees.

ABOUT BLUE JAY BARRENS

Located in the Bluegrass region of Southern Ohio, Blue Jay Barrens contains excellent xeric habitat inhabited by a wide variety of rare native plant and animal species. Since 1985, this private property has been managed to improve the integrity of the special ecosystems found here. This blog provides information on the current activities at Blue Jay Barrens.

RESPONSE TO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BLOG

It’s my intent to share information on current events at Blue Jay Barrens. Unless otherwise noted in the text, all photos were taken by me at Blue Jay Barrens.

Plant scientific names are from Gleason and Cronquist 1991. I realize that some changes in preferred nomenclature have occurred, but this is the principle reference I have been using for flora identification. Knowing this, I believe most people can figure out just what plant I’m talking about.

My discussions of flora and fauna are not intended to be a complete life history. There are plenty of good references for this type of information. I am discussing my personal experiences with plants and animals on this specific property. Any other information I may provide is intended to help you understand the significance of my observations.

MY 3 FAVORITE NATURE BOOKS:

1- Of Mosquitoes, Moths and Mice, by C Brooke Worth.2- Mosquito Safari: A Naturalist in Southern Africa, by C Brooke Worth.3- A Naturalist in Trinidad, by C Brooke Worth.

MY 3 FAVORITE FICTION BOOKS:

1- The Witches of Karres by James H Schmitz2- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham3- The Windhover Tapes (1st 3 volumes) by Warren Norwood

MY 3 FAVORITE MOVIES:

1- Vanishing Point 1971 with Barry Newman2- Flim Flam Man 1967 with George C Scott - also like the book by Guy Owens3- The Lathe Of Heaven 1979 with Bruce Davison - also like the book by Ursula K LeGuin

MY 3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

1- The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan2- Fawlty Towers with John Cleese3- Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin